Bragging ... or Not?

 

Five years ago, Bennett, my grandson, was telling me about his vacation on the lake in Alabama.  He said, “We were tubing behind this boat and my shorts were coming off and I was holding onto them with one hand and the tube with the other hand, but my hand was slipping off the handle on the tube, but I was hanging on with one finger -”.  And then he paused.  He looked thoughtful and said, “Granddaddy, did I sound like I was bragging?  Because if I did, I didn’t want to be bragging.”  My heart melted and I said, “No Bennett, you were just excited about your time on the lake.  You weren’t bragging.”  Because Bennett checked himself, he was in no danger of bragging.  Parents should teach their children discipline so that their children will learn self-discipline.  Solomon said in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  Hey, if we listen to that “still small voice”, the blessed Holy Spirit will keep us from bragging.  No Bennett, you are fine.  And you and God are going to do great things together.

Real Christian?

 

On the day that a certain $20 bill was printed, it went right into circulation.  It was first used at a drug store to buy cough syrup by a mother for her little boy.  It then went to an employee of the drug store employee for his salary, which he used to pay his electric bill.  The manager at the electric company used the $20 bill to purchase electrical parts to restore electricity for a widow lady during a winter storm.  The manager at the parts store got it as part of his salary and deposited the $20 bill at his bank.  But the next day, the bank manager notified the electrical parts store manager that his deposit was decreased by $20, because he had a counterfeit $20 bill in the deposit.  The electrical store owner was exasperated, but the bank manager was firm.  “The bill may have been given to you in good faith,” he said, “but it is still no good; it is worthless paper.”  Hey, that’s the way it is with some so-called Christians.  They may do many good works, but they aren’t genuine Christians.  They have not trusted in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.  Just like the counterfeit $20, they are counterfeit Christians.  Read the sobering words of Jesus Himself in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Interpreter

 

My wife and I were eating a late lunch (or early supper) at Olive Garden.  She had a gift card, and I am cheap.  I’m just sayin’.  Two Hispanic ladies at the next table were having difficulty getting their server’s attention.  But the Hispanic busser noticed and told the server what they wanted.  He had overheard their conversation, knew what they had said, and translated it into words that their server understood.  Hey, that’s exactly what the Holy Spirit does with our prayers.  The Lord God is working His will in the world every day.  But often, we pray for a loved one to recover from an illness or to have the job that they want or for a car to be repaired.  But God has other plans for them.  God is sending our loved ones trouble to draw them to Himself.  And without realizing it, we are praying against God’s masterplan.  But the Holy Spirit steps in and changes our prayers around and delivers them perfect to the Father in heaven!  Paul said in Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”  Hey, do you think that God knows what is best for us?  And do you want God’s will to be accomplished?  Then pray to the Lord, but when you are finished, say, “Nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done.”  And God will work things out for our good and for His glory!

Ten Count Minis

 

The other day, I took my grandson to Chick fil-A for breakfast.  I ordered my usual: a four-count mini with senior coffee.  Then I told him to order.  He looked questioning, so I said, “Order anything that you want.  But remember, you have to eat everything that you order.”  So Bennett confidently said, “A ten-count mini meal.  Large sprite please.”  I corrected him, “Make that a small sprite.”  And then I said to him, “They have free refills, and a small sprite is cheaper.”  And I smiled at him with a wink.  Pastor Roth was feeding his four teen-age boys years ago and said, “I’m just trying to keep you alive, not fill you up.”  I understand his logic.  Teenage boys have quite the appetite!  It’s too bad that we don’t have the same appetite for the Lord!  Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”  As my grandson continues to grow, he may not be filled with food, but I pray that he is satisfied with the dear Lord’s righteousness.

Bad Pumpkin!

 

I had to run out to the grocery store to get a few items Thursday morning.  Three of the Sinclair “kids” were coming over Thursday afternoon, so I bought a big pumpkin for them to carve.  I was so excited to find a really large one!  I put everything in the back of my Scion X-B, and placed the milk, cokes, and other items strategically around the pumpkin so that it wouldn’t roll around in the back.  But when I got home and opened the hatch, the pumpkin had rolled around.  As a matter of fact, it smashed the bread, bent the containers of cottage cheese and butter, and caved in the milk.  The milk lid held firm, for which I am grateful!  I didn’t hear anything happening, but the pumpkin quietly threw around its weight destroying everything in its path.  That large pumpkin behaved like some members in church (Not my church nor yours, but someone else’s church) … bullying and intimidating other quieter folk.  Without noticing, they roll over others and push their will upon more timid members.  Paul tells us in Philippians 2:3, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”  If we esteem others better than ourselves, we will not roll over them.  Bad pumpkin, bad, bad!

Wednesday Morning

 

I finished cardiac rehab Wednesday morning and got a cup of coffee before I left.  Two men were sitting at a table in animated discussion.  Another man was seated by himself and was reading a Gideon Bible that had been left on the table.  I got my coffee, walked past him, turned around to face him, and said, “Do you believe what you are reading?”  He was a little startled and said, “Excuse me?”  I continued, “I said, you don’t really believe that stuff that you are reading, do you?  You know, that Bible stuff?!”  He thought for a second and said confidently, “Yes, I do!”  And with that I said, “Well, I do too!  What are you reading?”  He smiled and said, “The book of James.”  With that, I quoted James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”  Then he said, “Chapter four is a hard one for me.  It talks about the tongue.”  I agreed and said, “You’re right!  It’s easy for me to be careful what I say with most people that I meet in the day, but when I get home, I let down my guard and say harsh things to my wife.”  He nodded in agreement.  I went on, “She’s not that hard to get along with, but it’s just that I don’t watch my tongue like James tells me to.”  I went on, “I think that today, I’m going to be more cautious with my tongue around my wife.  Thanks!”  He smiled, I left, and we both parted a little more edified in the Lord.

Whiskey Thief

 

My son-in-law is a deputy sheriff, and he tells me that I shouldn’t talk to strangers.  But I just can’t resist conversations.  Tuesday evening, on the way home, I stopped by Mapco to fill up with gas.  My wife wanted a Capuchino, so I went inside to get it for her.  I got the Capuchino and got in line behind a disgruntled customer.  When it was my turn, I asked the cashier, “How’s it going tonight?”  My mistake.  The cashier huffed and said, “I have one hour left and this shift has been terrible!”  She went on, “I have three pumps acting up and a man came in, grabbed a flask of whiskey, and stuffed it into his pants – right in front of me!  When I confronted him, he just went into the bathroom.  Then a lady came in, and I told her what this guy had just done, and she said, ‘That’s my husband!’  When the man came out of the bathroom, his wife began yelling at him calling him every name in the book.”  The cashier went on, “The wife followed the man out of the store yelling all the way to the car!”  The cashier giggled and said, “That man’s wife is going to give him more grief than the cops would ever have!”  I said, “They deserve each other.” and the cashier agreed.  Solomon agreed with both of us and said in Proverbs 25:24, “It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.”  The thief may have gotten his whiskey for free, but he paid for it dearly … all the way home.